The invention concerns an apparatus for orienting sausages, having at least one conveyor device with a moveable, in particular circulating, conveyor element on which individual sausages can be placed and transported in a conveyor direction along a path of movement. The invention further concerns a system for orienting sausages.
The invention also concerns a method of orienting sausages in which individual sausages are placed on a moveable, preferably circulating conveyor element of a conveyor device, and the sausages are transported along a path of movement on the conveyor element.
In the industrial production of portions of pasty foodstuff like sausages, a plurality of machines are combined in so-called sausage lines to form a mutually matched system. Sausages of differing quality, length or caliber can be produced by machines which are individually matched to each other in a production line. For example, sausages can be produced in natural, artificial or collagen casings. By means of a filling machine and attachments connected thereto the pasty foodstuff, e.g., the sausage meat, can be introduced into the casing. Individual portions can be produced by means of a twisting-off device. The portions can be separated into individual sausages by means of a separating device. Thus, up to more than 1,000 sausages per minute can be produced in a sausage line. The sausages can be subjected to further processing in various ways and packaged by means of packaging machines. Individual portions, like for example sausages which split or burst during production, are to be sorted out prior to packaging, that is to say removed from the process.
In regard to packaging by means of packaging machines, it is frequently necessary for sausages (or similar individual portions) to be oriented or sorted. Besides sorting on the basis of length, sorting on the basis of curvature of a portion may also be desired or required. Thus, it may be desirable, for example, for a group of a plurality of individual curved sausages to be placed in mutually juxtaposed relationship and possibly also in mutually superposed relationship in a package, for example a tray. In that case, it may be desirable for curved sausages to be placed in the tray directed in the same direction. In that respect there is the difficulty that the sausages produced after production, in particular after separation of individual portions by means of the separation device, are curved randomly and in various directions, and in no case do they involve identical or homogeneous curvature. Instead, the sausages occur randomly involving curvature to greatly different degrees and curvature in different directions. That is the case even when the individual sausages are placed on a conveyor device with an, in particular, circulating conveyor element, for example a conveyor belt. In terms of their curvature, the sausages involve different orientations, that is to say sometimes the curvature faces towards the right or sometimes towards the left, when the sausages are on the conveyor belt.
Reliable orientation and organization and/or sorting of curved sausages with an acceptable process speed has hitherto been a problem in sausage lines. While grouping of straight portions, for example straight sausages, is possible, there is a lack of technical systems which would be capable of implementing reliable orientation and sorting of curved sausages at an acceptable speed.
DE 4 007 803 A1 discloses an apparatus and a related method of transferring sausages. The sausages initially involve an orientation such that the longitudinal axis of the sausages extends parallel to the transport direction. The sausages oriented in that fashion are now introduced into a deflection device and turned thereby substantially through 90° so that the longitudinal axis of the sausages is now oriented transversely relative to the transport direction. The apparatus, however, is not suitable for sorting curved sausages on the basis of their curvatures.
US 2002/0115401 A1 discloses a conveyor and sorting apparatus for sausages, which makes use of the principle of a shaker belt, on which guides are provided for guiding sausages. By virtue of vibration and inclination of the belt, sausages pass into those guides and are conveyed in the transport direction.
No apparatus is disclosed, however, which would be suitable for implementing sorting of curved sausages between such guides. Sorting of curved sausages on the basis of their direction of curvature and subsequent grouping thereof are not disclosed.